In general, the present invention relates to an emergency phone that has a single activation button for establishing cellular telephone contact with an emergency response center. In particular, the present invention relates to a portable cellular device that produces an audible alarm, establishes radio communication with a home alarm base station, establishes full duplex voice communication with the emergency response center, and provides the emergency response center with the location of the portable cellular device.
Emergency response numbers such as 911 are utilized to provide individuals with a quick and easy way to contact an emergency response center when an emergency situation arises. By providing a standardized method of contacting emergency personnel, these emergency response numbers are effective in reducing the amount of time necessary to respond to an emergency. In an emergency, the amount of time required to respond can often mean the difference between life and death. Response time may be further minimized by employing caller identification technology that allows the operator of the emergency response center to automatically determine the phone number of the caller without requiring the caller to provide such information. If the call was placed from a stationary telephone, the operator at the emergency response center can also determine the location of the caller. Thus, even if the user is unable to verbally request assistance, the emergency response center can still send emergency response personnel to the location from which the call was placed.
One of the primary shortcomings of the prior art devices for utilizing the 911 emergency response system is that a phone terminal is needed to contact an emergency response center. If the emergency situation occurs in a remote area, it is often impossible to place a call to the emergency response system. However, with the advent of cellular telephone technology it is now possible to carry a cellular telephone that allows an emergency caller to contact an emergency response center from practically anywhere. The primary drawbacks of the cellular system are the high cost of cellular service and the inability of the emergency response center to automatically determine the location of the caller.
Cellular devices and services have been offered that are limited to emergency use only. These devices have several buttons that allow a variety of emergency services such as fire, medical and police to be summoned. By restricting use of the cellular phone to emergency situations, the user can either avoid or defer some of the costs associated with a full service cellular phone. However, these devices have multiple buttons and functions which may cause confusion in an emergency situation. Because of the stress often associated with emergency situations, an operator of such a complex emergency communication device may fail to properly summon emergency personnel. In addition, these emergency communication devices fail to integrate the functioning of the cellular device with a home alarm system that the user of the device might have. Furthermore, the devices do not have the capability to summon individuals in the immediate area around the device that may be able to provide assistance.
The present invention eliminates the oversights, difficulties, and disadvantages of the prior art by providing a simplified emergency communication apparatus for contacting and establishing full duplex voice communication with emergency personnel at an emergency response center. The apparatus includes a single activation button that, when pressed a first time, initiates the following functions: (1) electrical power from a power supply is provided to a cellular transmitter and receiver, (2) the cellular receiver is activated to search for an available cellular system channel, and (3) the cellular transmitter is activated to establish communication with the emergency response center. Since all of these functions are initiated by the pressing of a single activation button, communication with the emergency response center may be established simply and speedily, even under stressful conditions.
The invention includes a rigid housing with the cellular transmitter contained therein. When activated, the transmitter is operable to establish communication with only the emergency response center, thereby reducing or eliminating costs associated with non-emergency cellular phone service. The cellular receiver receives an incoming cellular signal from the emergency response center and conditions the incoming cellular signal to produce an incoming voice signal. A speaker receives the incoming voice signal and produces audible sound based thereon. The apparatus also includes a microphone for producing an outgoing voice signal based on audible speech of the operator whereby the operator may respond to the incoming cellular signal from the emergency response center. Based on the outgoing voice signal, the cellular transmitter generates the outgoing cellular signal for broadcast to the emergency response center.
By limiting use of the emergency phone to emergency situations, a user should be able to subscribe to a cellular service for a greatly reduced fee. In fact, present FTC regulations prohibit charging for, or refusing to connect, a call made to a 911 emergency response center. Thus, the emergency phone could presently be used without incurring any subscriber fees at all. More importantly, placing only a single large activation button on the emergency phone makes contacting an emergency response center exceedingly simple. Establishing a 911 emergency call using the emergency phone of the present invention requires only a single press of the activation button. In contrast, a conventional cellular phone requires at least six presses of four different buttons to make a 911 call. Thus, even in an extremely stressful emergency situation, the emergency phone is almost impossible to operate incorrectly. Furthermore, the simplicity of the emergency phone makes it especially adaptable for use by young children and physically and mentally impaired individuals.
In another aspect, the invention provides a method of establishing full-duplex cellular telephone communication between a portable cellular communication apparatus and an emergency response center, where the portable cellular communication apparatus includes a single activation button disposed beneath a movable protective cover, a cellular transmitter, a cellular receiver, a microprocessor, a memory device, a microphone, a speaker, and a battery. The method includes opening the protective cover to expose the single activation button, and applying pressure to the activation button at a first time and holding the pressure for a minimum time period. When pressure is applied to the activation button for the minimum time, the following steps are initiated, at least some of which may occur simultaneously: providing electrical power from the battery to the microprocessor, the receiver, and the transmitter; retrieving a telephone number associated with the emergency response center from the memory device; determining whether the portable cellular communication apparatus is within communication range of a cellular telephone system; and transmitting an outgoing cellular signal to establish cellular communication with the emergency response center. The method further includes receiving an incoming cellular signal from the emergency response center in response to the outgoing cellular signal, producing an incoming voice signal based on the incoming cellular signal, providing the incoming voice signal to the speaker, and producing audible sound from the speaker based on the incoming voice signal. The method also includes speaking into the microphone in response to the sound from the speaker, producing an outgoing voice signal from the microphone based on the speaking, providing the outgoing voice signal to the cellular transmitter, and transmitting the outgoing cellular signal to the emergency response center based on the outgoing voice signal. In this manner, the method provides for establishing full-duplex voice communication with the emergency response center with one press of a single activation button.